Defensive whiz has improved Yadier Molina's batting eye in each of the last three years. Doesn't appear to attempt home runs much anymore - helping keep his average up. Molina won't hurt you, but he probably won't help you outside of batting average for the position. He will aid you in finding safe backstop at-bats late in your draft.

Hard to put stock in such a large BB/K improvement, but Felipe Lopez's walk and strikeout percentages both have been trending positively. Contact rate? Not so much. He hasn't run for two straight years, and 2005 homer rate was called out long ago. There isn't much upside here, and .300 is exception, not rule. He might see occasional time at several positions for St. Louis, though. You're settling if he's your mixed MI.

Skip Schumaker's value comes from his runs scored in Cardinals lineup and his .300 average. Many hope for double-digit steals, but that's far from certain. He's best used as an NL-only starter at the keystone for his two-category stability.

David Freese, 26, flashed power at Triple-A in last two seasons despite shaky batting eye. Though he looks like the front-runner, Freese will battle for the third base job. Deep mixed leaguers can watch competition unfold unless they're desperate, in which case Freese can be a flier pick.

Discovered elusive walks in second half, but everything else tanked. Perhaps fatigue- or illness-related; hiatal hernia weakened him midseason, possibly afterward. Still needs to solve lefties. Reports say he had trouble with his old bats coach; Mark McGwire could help him capture his power stroke. Late improvements in patience point to some growth. The now-healthy Colby Rasmus is worth a late gamble.

BABIP and performance against righties normalized Ryan Ludwick's batting average, as expected. There isn't much upside to this late bloomer; '08 looks anomalous. But power remains, even if that was inflated, too. Flyball increase plays to that strength. Maintains RBI-happy spot in order, too. He resides outside the top 100, but he can suitably fill out five-outfielder lineups as long as power is your only expectation.

Brad Penny admitting he pitches to contact must've pleased pitching coach Dave Duncan, who could make Penny the next Joel Pineiro. Penny loved coming to the NL last year, where his approach and hard fastball play better. He knows how to eat innings; Duncan gives him a chance to become more efficient, a long-standing quandary for Penny. Oozes sleeper potential but will probably be more expensive in NL-onlys.

Perpetual injury risk had Cy Young-type season. Chris Carpenter hadn't pitched that many innings since '06. You know elite groundball ability and impeccable control are there when he's healthy. Skepticism will organically lower his price, so most are already taking the gamble into account. Here, you want someone else to pay full price. Of course, if you could snag him as your No. 3 pitcher, it's probably worth the dice roll.

Adam Wainwright fixed a delivery flaw early on before his groundball and K rates climbed. Used more diverse arsenal (more curveballs) after broken finger shortened '08. Burnout risk: innings jump after lighter year; even with budding dominance, still throws high pitch counts. Grounder-dominance combo usually leads to elitehood, but he's a low-end ace because of workload and durability concerns.

Former catcher realized he couldn't just throw 100 mph heat every launch. Tinkering with breaking stuff produced late-season improvements and hope heading into second MLB season. Learning curve a little steeper considering his recent position switch, so Jason Motte might still be working things through. Elite dominance potential makes him best saves speculation candidate on Cards roster and arguably one of the best in roto.

Ryan Franklin's dominance increase probably came as the result of a cut fastball, which may or may not be his slider. Increase in grounders produced BABIP, strand rate and homer ratios that might be illusions; history doesn't support the late bloomer's growth. Helping him is the lack of alternatives (save maybe Jason Motte), so he'll probably keep the gig for the majority of the year, at least. He presents risk as a midrange stopper; don't go overboard.